


radiance

by dawnofmidnight



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, baker! Kuroo, florist! Tsukishima
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 20:53:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7376971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawnofmidnight/pseuds/dawnofmidnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo just wants to buy his boyfriend flowers. Tsukishima has learned to just roll with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	radiance

**Author's Note:**

> is this self indulgent disgusting kurotsuki shmoop? yes. do i regret it? no.  
> written for days 3/4 of kurotsuki week 2016: jobs

**i.**

Kuroo Tetsurou had always been a romantic.

He constantly insisted on lavish displays of affection and absolutely adored any response from Kei, not minding that Kei wasn't as bold as him. The countless cakes and pastries he brought home from work on birthdays and anniversaries, matching boyfriend shirts, hugging Kei so tightly when leaving him at the train station in high school that it seemed like they wouldn’t meet again- Kei loved every second of it, even though he wouldn't dare to even dream of admitting it. And Tetsurou, bless him, never failed to be ecstatic at a mere peck on the cheek and a soft 'thank you' in return.

Kuroo Tetsurou had always been a romantic, and Kei told himself this as he stepped into his apartment-turned-garden. Flowers adorned every surface; camellias sprawled over the windowsills, hydrangeas nestled in vases on the table, and sunflowers in bunches rested on the kitchen counter.

"I let myself in," quipped Tetsurou, a single red rose in his hand as he lazed on the couch among pink peonies. Kei's heart swelled in affection for him, sitting so comfortably in his living room as if he always belonged.

"Why did I ever give you keys to this place?"

"Because you're madly in love with me."

Kei sighed as he toed off his shoes. He couldn't argue with that.

"Please tell me that these are at least from my store. You're gonna run us out of business if you keep buying from Hinata's."

"That was _one_ time, Tsukki, and it was before I knew that you worked in a flower shop in the first place!"

Kei laughed, brushing aside the flowers in order to curl up next to Tetsurou. Tetsurou slipped the rose behind Kei's ear with deft fingers and wrapped his arm around him while Kei picked up a peony.

"These mean compassion, or bashfulness. They're supposed to foretell a good marriage." He twirled the stem in between his fingers idly.

"Yeah?" Tetsurou kissed the top of Kei's head, having to crane his neck a bit to reach it properly.

"You know, red roses are often given to show passionate love," Tetsurou said earnestly, eyes wide. 

Kei stared at him blankly for a moment. Tetsurou looked back innocently, and Kei burst into peals of laughter. Kei could see Tetsurou's face twitch as he struggled to keep a straight face, but he too broke out into his obnoxious laugh once Kei let out a snort.

"Oh my god, you're a snorter!" Tetsurou snickered.

"Shut up, have you ever heard your own laugh?" Kei retorted in between giggles.

"Hmph, well,” Kuroo began when he caught his breath. “I don't appreciate you making fun of my extensive flower knowledge."

"Ah, yes, the elusive red rose," Kei mused. Tetsurou smiled and nosed at Tsukishima's hair.

"What's the occasion for all of this anyways?" Kei murmured, tucking his head carefully into the space between Tetsurou's neck and shoulder as to not jostle the rose out of place.

"You're beautiful, and you're perfect, and you deserve flowers."

"There are several people that would deign to disagree."

"There are also several people that are idiots, darling, and I'm sure that there's a direct correlation between them and the ones that-"

Kei rolled his eyes and opted to lean in for a kiss rather than dignifying his boyfriend with a response. Tetsurou reciprocated wholeheartedly, pulling Kei impossibly closer to himself. The position was awkward, and Kei could feel a crick in his neck from the angle, but he deepened the kiss anyways.

"Mm, by the way," Tetsurou murmured in between kisses, "What's your favorite flower?"

"Ranunculus. Haven't you asked me that before?" Kei pulled back and stretched out across the couch, laying his head on Tetsurou's lap and reaching up to thumb his jaw softly.

Tetsurou smiled. "Yeah, I just wanted to make sure." They stayed like that for a moment, Kei absentmindedly stroking Tetsurou's face while Tetsurou leaned into it like the cat Kei always claimed that he was.

"Come on," Tetsurou said eventually, pushing Kei off of him so that they could both stand. Tetsurou tugged Kei to his bedroom.

"What is it-oh." Kei stopped in his tracks upon reaching the threshold of his room.

His bed was covered in beautiful ranunculi of all colors, ranging from deeps red and purple to soft pink and white. The comforter and pillows couldn't be seen underneath the assortment of flowers, and red rose petals were scattered around the floor.

"I'm starting to think that this is an elaborate plot for you to get laid, Tetsu."

Tetsurou laughed, "An _expensive_ plot, mind you. But I would never do something like that and try to win you over with material objects, absolutely not." Kei raised an eyebrow at him.

"If I did though, I would have to say that I think it's working," Tetsurou continued. He let go of Kei's hand to make space for them on the bed among the ranunculus. and laid down carefully. Kei changed into more comfortable clothes before following him in under the covers.

"What do ranunculi mean?" Tetsurou asked.

"They show charm and radiance. Hey, when did you even do all of this? I didn't see any orders for a billion flowers at work today." The thought had just crossed his mind, now that he had gotten over his initial engrossment with all of the flowers.

"I gave Yachi the order last week and told her to make sure you didn't see it."

"That little minx..."

"She's an angel," Tetsurou gushed. Kei sighed in resignation, as that was the indisputable truth.

Tetsurou's brow suddenly furrowed in concern. “Your rose," he murmured. It had fallen down in between them as they moved. Kei took it from Tetsurou's hand when he picked it up and placed it behind Tetsurou's ear instead.

"Red looks good on you," Kei remarked simply.

Tetsurou grinned and squirmed underneath the covers so that his head rested on Kei's chest. He kissed the spot over Kei's heart gently and then moved back to snuggle Kei. Kei ran his fingers through Tetsurou's perpetually unruly hair, scratching at his scalp occasionally.

"You know this is gonna be a bitch to clean up, right?"

Tetsurou hummed happily in agreement. "Wouldn't be a nice surprise if it wasn't, darling."

**ii.**

"They're called poinsettias," Kei explained carefully, the foreign word rolling off of his tongue awkwardly as he placed the red plant on his kitchen counter. "People in some countries keep these around for Christmas. It’s for holiday cheer, I guess."

Tetsurou frowned. "Is it even a flower?" he asked, poking at the scarlet foliage suspiciously.

"Nope. Those are just red leaves. That yellow part in the middle is the flower. But I still think they're nice."

"The only important plant during Christmas is mistletoe," Tetsurou argued.

Kei smirked. "I got some of that, too."

He rummaged the small sprig of mistletoe out of his coat pocket and held it up over his head tantalizingly.

"Well?"

Kei let Tetsurou pull him in by the belt loops of his jeans and fisted his hands into the front of Tetsurou's threadbare hoodie as he kissed him, noses bumping as the poor plant got crushed in between them. Tetsurou was warm, as always, and Kei melted at the way Tetsurou's hands slid up from his waist and up into his hair. He looped his arms around Tetsurou's neck, bringing their bodies closer together. When he tugged at Tetsurou's hair, he let out a small moan against his lips.

"Ah, Kei..."

Kei moved down to kiss Tetsurou's neck, lightly grazing his teeth against the tanned skin occasionally to draw out more of Tetsurou's vocal side.

Tetsurou cursed and leaned his head back with a groan, and Kei was sure that Tetsurou could feel his grin against his neck.

"See, now this is holiday cheer," Tetsurou remarked while Kei was sucking a hickey onto his neck. It would definitely be seen tomorrow without makeup or a scarf to cover it. Kei responded to his boyfriend by biting the junction of Tetsurou's neck and shoulder. Tetsurou let out a small _'oh'_ and pressed his forehead against Kei's shoulder.

"Stay the night," Tetsurou mumbled after a moment. He sounded uncharacteristically gentle, and Kei felt his heart twinge.

"I-" Kei hesitated. It wasn't late enough yet for Kei to drive back home without being drowsy, and Tetsurou's apartment was far from the flower shop. But the way Tetsurou had asked him, voice so soft and tinged with longing... 

"Fine." It was going to be a long commute in the morning, but Kei couldn't find it in himself to feel any regret. 

Tetsurou peeled his body away from Kei's with a small smile on his face.

"I'll make some hot chocolate then."

Kei only nodded, but he grabbed Tetsurou's wrist right as he turned to go into the kitchen and brought him in closer for a soft peck to his lips.

"Love you."

Tetsurou beamed. "Love you too, sweetheart."

Kei retreated to the couch in Tetsurou's living room and wrapped one of the blankets that Tetsurou always kept there around himself. He was scrolling through the news on his phone when Tetsurou walked into the room, both hands holding two steaming mugs.

"Thanks," Tsukishima said, grabbing a mug and scooting over so that Tetsurou could sit next to him. The older boy turned on the TV and flicked through the channels, remote in one hand and hot chocolate in the other.

"Christmas movie?" Tetsurou asked. Kei wrinkled his nose at that. Tetsurou insisted on getting as many of their friends together for a movie marathon each winter, and he never got tired of watching the same films over and over again. Kei, however, did.

"If we watch one now, then we can quote it together when we watch it with everyone and it'll be super cute. It's gonna be great, Tsukki, I know it. We'll be even more of an unstoppable power couple than we already are.”

"That amazingly made me want to watch one even less."

Tetsurou narrowed his eyes. "Fine, Holiday Baking Championship it is."

Kei bit his lip, then looked down to take a sip of his drink (which tasted perfect as usual, damn it). Kei would always snap at Tetsurou to be quiet whenever they watched anything relating to baking since he would constantly ramble on about whatever it was that was being made, whether he was criticizing the contestants or bouncing up and down in excitement. It was unbearably cute to see Tetsurou so fired up over _cookies._ Not that Tetsurou would ever know that.

"Whatever," Kei grumbled half-heartedly.

Tetsurou grinned again, that goofy smile effectively convincing Kei that there really was good in the world like it did every time. He tried to hide his own surely lovesick smile into his mug.

Just as expected, Kuroo lost it approximately 5 minutes into the episode, screaming,

"Oh for the love of God, why the hell would you top that with Italian meringue?”

Kei's eyes followed Tetsurou more than the bakers on TV. The warmth underneath the blanket, being curled up next to Tetsurou, drinking hot chocolate while they watched Christmas specials-it all made for a sickeningly domestic scene, but Kei wouldn't want to have it any other way.

 

**iii.**

"So you have to start with pate a choux, or choux pastry." Tetsurou looked right at home in the kitchen of the bakery where he worked, stained apron tied around his waist and handling his tools with practiced ease. Kei, on the other hand, felt stupid as he stood there holding a whisk. Tetsurou laughed when he looked at him and swapped out the whisk for a wooden spoon. He guided Kei over to the stove and stationed him in front of a saucepan. 

"Here, stir this while I start on the pastry cream," Tetsurou instructed. Kei did as he was told, stirring the mixture of water, butter, and sugar intently while Tetsurou whipped out more bowls and ingredients. After a few minutes, Kei felt his boyfriend sidle up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder. Tetsurou was warm against Kei's back, nuzzling into his neck insistently.

"You're doing great, babe."

"I'm just stirring," Kei grumbled. "You're sure that your boss is okay with us being back here, right?" Tetsurou had brought them in after the bakery closed and was dead set on teaching Kei how to make eclairs.

"Yeah, of course! She said it's fine as long as we don't fuck on the counters," Tetsurou added, sounding disappointed.

He kissed the side of Kei's neck before moving away to work on the pastry cream.

"Take that off the heat and stir in some flour, then put it back on and keep stirring please, dear."

"That's too many things, I'm not a pastry chef!" Kei complained.

"You have my blessing. I believe in you, sweetheart."

"I hate you. How much flour?"

"Just eyeball it."

“Kuroo!"

"Fine, fine! A cup should be good, I think."

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

"You always devour my eclairs, so yes, yes I do."

Kei groaned. "Where are the measuring cups?"

" _Just eyeball it._ ”

"Measuring. Cups." Kei bit out.

Tetsurou stuck out his tongue at Kei but retrieved the measuring cup after rummaging through various drawers and cabinets. Kei sifted in the flour and stirred while Tetsurou continued to make the filling. Tetsurou was humming softly as he worked, and Kei looked over at him fondly. Tetsurou was nothing short of perfect-at least, he was perfect for Kei, and awfully endearing if nothing else.

"See something you like?" Tetsurou's voice shook him out of his reverie. Kei felt his cheeks burn and turned back to the stove top. Tetsurou walked back over to Kei's side and bumped hips with him playfully, still stirring the bowl of pastry cream.

"Here, taste," Tetsurou urged, placing the whisk back into the bowl and holding up a cream covered finger in front of Kei's face. Kei wrapped his lips around it and licked it off.

"It's good," he remarked simply. It was absolutely delicious, but there was no need to tell Tetsurou that.

However, for some reason, Tetsurou still had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"That's Tsukki-speak for, 'I could eat a bowl of this stuff, preferably off of your naked body, Tetsu,' "

"Please stop, you're embarrassing yourself."

"You know you love me," Tetsurou singsonged. He checked on the pastry and noted, "That looks about done, let's get that into the oven."

Kei nodded and turned the stove off. Kei waited as Tetsurou started the ganache, and then Kei piped out eclairs as Tetsurou directed, Tetsurou standing behind him once more and holding Kei's shaky, untrained hands as they squeezed pastry onto the sheet pan.

Kei collapsed onto a chair after the eclairs were in the oven, slumping down onto the counter. His feet ached from standing all day at work and then at the bakery, his shoulders felt stiff, and he was overall just exhausted.

"This takes too much effort. We should've made strawberry shortcake instead," he grumbled.

"Strawberry shortcake takes just as long as eclairs," Tetsurou reminded him as he took a seat next to Kei. “Longer, actually, since the cake needs to cool before you frost it.”

Kei rolled his eyes but left it at that, too tired to debate on the topic further. Tetsurou rubbed Kei's shoulders slowly but firmly, and Kei struggled to suppress a moan of relief.

"Oh, shit, I just remembered..." Kei sat up after a moment and rummaged through his coat that hung on the back of the chair. He retrieved a crimson amaryllis from the pocket, one of the petals slightly bent.

"It's an amaryllis," he said sheepishly as he held it out to Tetsurou. "It symbolizes pride and radiant beauty. It reminds me of you." The last bit came out rushed. Kei linked his fingers together underneath the counter.

Tetsurou’s face was ecstatic as he accepted the flower from him. "I'm so madly in love with you, I don't think you even know-"

"You're terrible."

"No, I'm radiantly beautiful-"

He was thankfully cut short by the sharp chime of the oven timer.

"Ah, they're done. We can fill them and eat them while they're still warm, if you'd like."

"Please."

Their night ended with Tetsurou hand-feeding Kei the finished eclairs and-sure enough- Kei eating the leftover pastry cream off of Tetsurou's stomach.

"We can fuck here, I'll clean it up, n-no one will know," Tetsurou managed in between heavy breaths.

"That's unsanitary. You make food here, Tetsurou."

"Kei, darling, please-"

Kei took his hands off of Tetsurou's hips and rose up off his knees.

"You already packed the eclairs, right? Let's go home," he said, shrugging on his coat.

"You're infuriating," Tetsurou groaned as he pulled down his shirt from where it was bunched up by his armpits and stood up to join Kei.

"Well, I learned from the best," Kei smirked.

Tetsurou rolled his eyes but didn't respond, instead trying to put on a semblance of composure by straightening out his clothes and running his hand through his hair. Kei laughed and threaded his own fingers through the black locks as well, letting them trail down his scalp and rest on the side of his neck.

"You really are lovely, you know," Kei murmured softly, brushing his thumb over Tetsurou's pulse. Tetsurou leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his forehead. Kei smiled and dragged his hand down the length of the Tetsurou's arm, ending at his palm and linking their fingers together.

"Mm, so, your place or mine?"

Kei sighed. "And you ruined it. We were kind of having a moment, you idiot."

"I still want you to fuck my brains out."

"Whatever, let's just go."

Kei waited as Tetsurou put on his jacket, and then they both left the bakery hand in hand. Right as they stepped out the door, Tetsurou suddenly let go and turned back with a jolt.

"Tetsu!"

Tetsurou ignored him as he ran back to the kitchen. Kei leaned against the door and tapped his foot impatiently. Tetsurou finally returned a few minutes later, holding the amaryllis in his hand.

"I didn't wanna leave it behind."

"You're such a sap."

"You're the one that gave me this in the first place to convey my radiant beauty."

"It's really sweet that you think you're getting laid tonight."

"Kei, sweetheart, the unconditional, eternal love of my life-"

"Tetsurou," he interrupted. "Let's just go home."

"Yes, you dork, which brings me to my original question: your place or mine?"

Kei gave a mental sigh of relief when Tetsurou didn't comment on how Kei referred to either of their apartments as home. He had a brief moment in which those dreadful, cliche words, _Home is wherever you are,_ flashed through his mind, but he didn't dwell on it. He couldn't live with that kind of embarrassment.

"Mine is closer, I think," he replied, trying to fight off the blood that rushed to his face as his brain betrayed him with scenes of him and Tetsurou living together and waking up next to each other every morning. Thank god it was already dark out.

"Let's go then," Tetsurou replied much too cheerfully. "To _our home._ ”

Kei's eyes widened. _Shit._

"I'm not letting you into my apartment."

"I have keys to your place."

"I-you-oh my god, let's just go,” Kei relented.

Tetsurou grinned and took Kei's hand in his, the amaryllis still in his other hand. Kei's fingers unwillingly curled around Tetsurou's warm ones.

"I wouldn't mind, you know," Tetsurou said quietly. Kei frowned in confusion.

"Living together, that is. It could be nice." Tetsurou sounded timid, and he was stubbornly looking down at the red flower in his hand rather than meeting Kei's wide-eyed gaze. He tucked it into his pocket and brushed his fringe out of his face, a nervous habit of his. 

Kei tightened his grip in what he hoped to be a reassuring gesture before glancing away as well.

"Yeah, it could.”

Tetsurou finally raised his head and brought their joined hands to his lips.

“You're lovely too, by the way.” 

Kei smiled as he led Tetsurou back to his apartment. He could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> accept the domestic fluff tsukki. this is your life now.  
> kudos, comments, and concrit are appreciated! hope everyone's enjoying kurotsuki week so far!!!


End file.
